Ultimate shoulder rides

At first I was hesitant about meeting someone to lift me, but that all changed this past year and it’s been a whirlwind for me as a rider. After years of lurking and browsing pictures online, finally putting myself out there was one of the best decisions I’ve made.

This past summer, I met a lifter from a different site. A very fit guy in his 50s and probably the strongest guy I’ve ever met. I’m about 137 lbs (63 kg) yet he’s lifted more than double my weight on his shoulders before, so I was excited about how easy I’d be for him. He carried me many different ways but I will focus solely on the shoulder rides. In fact, the shoulder rides stood out the most during our first meetup.

We walked (well... he walked mostly) down a shaded trail. It wasn’t flat but he had no trouble carrying me downhill and a little bit uphill. No matter how much I moved, it didn’t affect him. I was very easy for him to carry.

I tried out different positions with my legs: hanging in front and tucked behind his back. Placing my hands on my hips gave me a feeling of confidence. Sometimes I’d called out “to the right” whenever we’d come to a low-hanging tree branch. Another nice thing about outdoor rides was seeing our shadows.

Between the feeling of being high off the ground and his incredible strength, it was an amazing experience and one of the highlights of my year.